| The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the development and underdevelopment of the Amazon Region in the period 1880-1960 through a historical perspective.;The evidence presented in this dissertation suggests that the regional merchant community contributed positively to the fast economic growth of the region, but they were unable to transform the traditional mode of production dominating in the region into a genuine capitalist mode of production. Besides the above, the Central and State governments held the major responsibility for the underdevelopment of the Amazon region.;To carry out such an historical analysis, I have first surveyed the principal theoretical paradigms usually applied by scholars of regional economics. This theoretical review is followed by a general characterization of the Amazon economy. Here, I have also attempted to analyze the exchange network system which predominated in the region. |
